Bhavya Bhargava | Master and PHD Scholarships (original) (raw)
Papers by Bhavya Bhargava
Frontiers in Plant Science
Two major future challenges are an increase in global earth temperature and a growing world popul... more Two major future challenges are an increase in global earth temperature and a growing world population, which threaten agricultural productivity and nutritional food security. Underutilized crops have the potential to become future climate crops due to their high climate-resilience and nutritional quality. In this context, C4 pseudocereals such as grain amaranths are very important as C4 crops are more heat tolerant than C3 crops. However, the thermal sensitivity of grain amaranths remains unexplored. Here, Amaranthus hypochondriacus was exposed to heat stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages to capture heat stress and recovery responses. Heat Shock Factors (Hsfs) form the central module to impart heat tolerance, thus we sought to identify and characterize Hsf genes. Chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) reduced significantly during heat stress, while malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased, suggesting that heat exposure caused stress in the plants. The g...
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health
Environmental pollution, especially indoor air pollution, has become a global issue and affects n... more Environmental pollution, especially indoor air pollution, has become a global issue and affects nearly all domains of life. Being both natural and anthropogenic substances, indoor air pollutants lead to the deterioration of the ecosystem and have a negative impact on human health. Cost-effective plant-based approaches can help to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), regulate temperature, and protect humans from potential health risks. Thus, in this review, we have highlighted the common indoor air pollutants and their mitigation through plant-based approaches. Potted plants, green walls, and their combination with bio-filtration are such emerging approaches that can efficiently purify the indoor air. Moreover, we have discussed the pathways or mechanisms of phytoremediation, which involve the aerial parts of the plants (phyllosphere), growth media, and roots along with their associated microorganisms (rhizosphere). In conclusion, plants and their associated microbial communities can be key solutions for reducing indoor air pollution. However, there is a dire need to explore advanced omics technologies to get in-depth knowledge of the molecular mechanisms associated with plant-based reduction of indoor air pollutants.
Frontiers in Plant Science, Feb 7, 2023
The acceptance of new crop varieties by consumers is contingent on the presence of consumer-prefe... more The acceptance of new crop varieties by consumers is contingent on the presence of consumer-preferred traits, which include sensory attributes, nutritional value, industrial products and bioactive compounds production. Recent developments in genome editing technologies provide novel insight to identify gene functions and improve the various qualitative and quantitative traits of commercial importance in plants. Various conventional as well as advanced gene-mutagenesis techniques such as physical and chemical mutagenesis, CRISPR-Cas9, Cas12 and base editors are used for the trait improvement in crops. To meet consumer demand, breakthrough biotechnologies, especially CRISPR-Cas have received a fair share of scientific and industrial interest, particularly in plant genome editing. CRISPR-Cas is a versatile tool that can be used to knock out, replace and knock-in the desired gene fragments at targeted locations in the genome, resulting in heritable mutations of interest. This review highlights the existing literature and recent developments in CRISPR-Cas technologies (base editing, prime editing, multiplex gene editing, epigenome editing, gene delivery methods) for reliable and precise gene editing in plants. This review also discusses the potential of gene editing exhibited in crops for the improvement of consumer-demanded traits such as higher nutritional value, colour, texture, aroma/ flavour, and production of industrial products such as biofuel, fibre, rubber and pharmaceuticals. In addition, the bottlenecks and challenges associated with gene editing system, such as off targeting, ploidy level and the ability to edit organelle genome have also been discussed.
Scientific Reports
Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus Andrews) is a high-valued bulbous cut flower. However, the shor... more Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus Andrews) is a high-valued bulbous cut flower. However, the shorter postharvest life of the gladiolus, limits its marketing and commercial value. In the present investigation, the effect of lemon grass (LG) essential oil as an antimicrobial agent was studied towards increasing the vase life of gladiolus. The results revealed that as compared to control (distilled water), treatment with a lower concentration of 5 µL L−1 LG essential oil prolonged the vase life of gladiolus up to 11 days (d). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observation indicated that the sample treated with 5 µL L−1 LG essential oil showed intact vasculature, suggesting reduced microbial blockage at the stem end which was further corroborated by microbial count. Biochemical analysis suggested an increased level of total soluble sugars, carotenoid content, lower MDA accumulation, and higher activity of antioxidant enzymes in LG treated flowers. Moreover, transcripts levels of genes a...
The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
The effect of climatic conditions and planting dates on growth, flowering and seed production of ... more The effect of climatic conditions and planting dates on growth, flowering and seed production of candytuft (Iberis amara L.) under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh during 2010-11 and 2011-12 were investigated. Six plantings were done at an interval of 15 days starting from September 17 in both the years with planting dates as; September 17, October 2, October 17, November 1, November 16 and December 1. The maximum plant height (34.81 cm), plant spread (33.23 cm), number of side stems/plant (6.25), earliest visible flower bud formation (55.43 days), flowering (77.80 days), duration of flowering (41.80 days), number of flower clusters/stem (15.46), number of siliquae/plant (3467.72), seed yield/plant (10.25 g) and 1 000 seed weight (2.18 g) were recorded with September 17 planting. However, earliest siliqua formation (157.58 days) was observed in December 1 planted crop.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
Agronomy
Litchi chinensis is the “queen of fruits”, and pollination is an essential requirement for fruit ... more Litchi chinensis is the “queen of fruits”, and pollination is an essential requirement for fruit set and production. The present study was conducted in litchi orchards to study the diversity/abundance of insect visitors, the impact of pollination on quantitative parameters, and different modes of pollination. The results showed that 75 insect species during flowering were reported including Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. In natural pollination, the abundance of insect visitors of Hymenoptera was more during morning and evening (50.25% and 44.89%, respectively) compared to Lepidoptera (21.83 and 26.67%) and Diptera (24.37 and 23.33%). Similarly, natural pollination with one Apis mellifera colony also showed higher abundance of insect visitors of Hymenoptera during morning and evening (50.15 and 57.31%, respectively) as compared to Lepidoptera and Diptera. The Dipteran insect visitors under natural pollination showed significant positive correlation with temperatur...
Frontiers in Plant Science
The bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae L.) is one of the important tropical cut flowers. Genera... more The bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae L.) is one of the important tropical cut flowers. Generally, flowers like bird of paradise (BOP) grown for the commercial ornamental market must be of high pre and postharvest quality. Thus, to improve the postharvest longevity and increase marketability, the relative efficacy of two different biologically synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) was evaluated. The novel proprietary stimulants were graphene oxide (GO) and silver nanoparticles (SNPs). The NP treatments were applied as a vase (lower concentrations) solutions. Among all the applied treatments, the synergistic effect of GO + SNPs at 1 µL L−1 vase solution significantly (p =0.05) prolongs the post-harvest life of cut flowers of BOP. Increased vase life over the deionized water (DI) control was associated with better maintenance of relative water uptake, relative fresh weight, suppressed microbial density at stem-end and delay of stem blockage, reduced electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde (...
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation
Flower and Ornamental Plants
Floriculture has become one of the vital profitable businesses in Indian agriculture. The importa... more Floriculture has become one of the vital profitable businesses in Indian agriculture. The important flowers which are internationally traded include lilium, tagetes, rose, tulip, chrysanthemum, carnation, tuberose, crossandra, etc. Estimation of yield at the time of harvesting of flowers is an important aspect in these floriculture businesses which help strategize their marketing. The present study thus focuses on Lilium and Tagetes (marigold), which are well-known cut and loose flowers, respectively. Cut flowers are harvested when buds start showing color while loose flowers are harvested depending upon the varieties when it attains full size. Conventionally, yield estimations are done manually by counting buds and flowers, which is often erroneous and time-consuming. This paper attempts to develop an automated system for counting Lilium buds and Tagetes flowers at the time of its harvesting using digital image processing techniques. The process implicates image acquisition, preprocessing, thresholding, watershed and finally buds/flower counting for yield estimation. The validation of the results has been done by comparing the results obtained through the manual method as well as by automated counting. The entire process was repeated four times with four different photos to judge the robustness of the techniques. The obtained result was 95.61% accurate for Lilium and 96.66% in the case of Tagetes, airing the possibilities of using the approach. The systematic workflow with pros and cons has been discussed in this paper.
Dutch Iris is a commercially important bulbous ornamental crop. Its high demand in global floricu... more Dutch Iris is a commercially important bulbous ornamental crop. Its high demand in global floriculture market necessitates the production of high-quality planting material. In the present investigation, the significance of meta-topolin (mT), a novel aromatic cytokinin, was studied on in vitro morphogenesis of Iris × hollandica Tub. cv. Professor Blaauw (Dutch Iris). Cytokinin mT (1.0 mg L− 1) as a better substitute to BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine) and Kn (Kinetin), has resulted in maximum shoot induction response (86.11 per cent) and increased emergence of micro shoots (4.95 shoots/explant with average shoot length of 5.65 cm) from twin scale explants. Photoperiod also affected the shoot induction, wherein initial 1-week (w) dark incubation significantly increased shoot induction response (94.44 per cent). Both meta-topolin and initial 1w dark incubation resulted in improved quality of regenerated shoots by reducing the incidence of necrosis and preventing vitrification. The collective ...
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 2022
As sessile species and without the possibility of escape, plants constantly face numerous environ... more As sessile species and without the possibility of escape, plants constantly face numerous environmental stresses. To adapt in the external environmental cues, plants adjust themselves against such stresses by regulating their physiological, metabolic and developmental responses to external environmental cues. Certain environmental stresses rarely occur during plant life, while others, such as heat, drought, salinity, and cold are repetitive. Abiotic stresses are among the foremost environmental variables that have hindered agricultural production globally. Through distinct mechanisms, these stresses induce various morphological, biochemical, physiological, and metabolic changes in plants, directly impacting their growth, development, and productivity. Subsequently, plant's physiological, metabolic, and genetic adjustments to the stress occurrence provide necessary competencies to adapt, survive and nurture a condition known as "memory." This review emphasizes the advancements in various epigenetic-related chromatin modifications, DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, phytohormones, and microRNAs associated with abiotic stress memory. Plants have the ability to respond quickly to stressful situations and can also improve their defense systems by retaining and sustaining stressful memories, allowing for stronger or faster responses to repeated stressful situations. Although there are relatively few examples of such memories, and no clear understanding of their duration, taking into consideration plenty of stresses in nature. Understanding these mechanisms in depth could aid in the development of genetic tools to improve breeding techniques, resulting in higher agricultural yield and quality under changing environmental conditions.
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 2022
Ornamental potted indoor plants provide environment friendly, self-regulating and cost-effective ... more Ornamental potted indoor plants provide environment friendly, self-regulating and cost-effective solutions to ameliorating indoor air pollution. The present study aimed to measure Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) of 15 commonly used indoor ornamental plant species. APTI was measured from the foliar portion of plants using their 04 biochemical parameters like chlorophyll (total), pH, relative water content, and ascorbic acid. It was found that among all plant species, Dracaena deremensis (APTI 13.03) and Ficus benjamina (APTI 12.19) appeared as tolerant; eight species (Spathiphyllum wallisii, Epipremnum aureum, Philodendron bipinnatifidum, Dieffenbachia seguine, Sansevieria trifasciata, Hedera helix, Chrysanthemum indicum, Ficus elastica) were moderately tolerant with APTI values ranging from 11.40 to 10.70. The Chlorophytum comosum (APTI 10.32) was intermediately tolerant and four were sensitive (Rhapis excels APTI 8.58, Chamadorea seifrizii APTI 8.47, Dypsis lutescens APTI 7.47, Gerbera jamesonii APTI 6.76) towards air pollution. A positive and high correlation was obtained between APTI and RWC (R 2 = 0.742), and APTI and Ascorbic acid (R 2 = 0.615). The present study thus helped in knowing the pollution tolerance abilities of widely used indoor potted ornamental plants. It was also revealed that the evaluation of the plant tolerance index could be useful for the screening of appropriate indoor plant species for pollution abatement.
Floriculture and Ornamental Plants, 2021
Agronomy, 2021
Jasminum parkeri Dunn is a narrowly endemic, critically endangered woody ornamental shrub confine... more Jasminum parkeri Dunn is a narrowly endemic, critically endangered woody ornamental shrub confined to sub-temperate zone of Western Himalayas, and rediscovered from its type locality after a lapse of about 100 years. In the present study, a propagation technique of J. parkeri, using stem cuttings, was established for the first time through application of auxins, namely, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), at varying concentrations ranging from 1000 to 4000 ppm. The highest rooting percentage (98.33% (85.68% ± 4.32)), number of primary roots (36), root length (29.68 cm) and survival percentage (96.67% (83.85% ± 6.16)) were recorded for cuttings treated with 3000 ppm NAA. The phenological comparison between pot plants propagated through seeds and stem cuttings in a naturally ventilated polyhouse revealed a reduction in vegetative and flowering phases in cutting raised plants. Additionally, a noteworthy adaptive behavior of two w...
Frontiers in Plant Science
Two major future challenges are an increase in global earth temperature and a growing world popul... more Two major future challenges are an increase in global earth temperature and a growing world population, which threaten agricultural productivity and nutritional food security. Underutilized crops have the potential to become future climate crops due to their high climate-resilience and nutritional quality. In this context, C4 pseudocereals such as grain amaranths are very important as C4 crops are more heat tolerant than C3 crops. However, the thermal sensitivity of grain amaranths remains unexplored. Here, Amaranthus hypochondriacus was exposed to heat stress at the vegetative and reproductive stages to capture heat stress and recovery responses. Heat Shock Factors (Hsfs) form the central module to impart heat tolerance, thus we sought to identify and characterize Hsf genes. Chlorophyll content and chlorophyll fluorescence (Fv/Fm) reduced significantly during heat stress, while malondialdehyde (MDA) content increased, suggesting that heat exposure caused stress in the plants. The g...
Air Quality, Atmosphere & Health
Environmental pollution, especially indoor air pollution, has become a global issue and affects n... more Environmental pollution, especially indoor air pollution, has become a global issue and affects nearly all domains of life. Being both natural and anthropogenic substances, indoor air pollutants lead to the deterioration of the ecosystem and have a negative impact on human health. Cost-effective plant-based approaches can help to improve indoor air quality (IAQ), regulate temperature, and protect humans from potential health risks. Thus, in this review, we have highlighted the common indoor air pollutants and their mitigation through plant-based approaches. Potted plants, green walls, and their combination with bio-filtration are such emerging approaches that can efficiently purify the indoor air. Moreover, we have discussed the pathways or mechanisms of phytoremediation, which involve the aerial parts of the plants (phyllosphere), growth media, and roots along with their associated microorganisms (rhizosphere). In conclusion, plants and their associated microbial communities can be key solutions for reducing indoor air pollution. However, there is a dire need to explore advanced omics technologies to get in-depth knowledge of the molecular mechanisms associated with plant-based reduction of indoor air pollutants.
Frontiers in Plant Science, Feb 7, 2023
The acceptance of new crop varieties by consumers is contingent on the presence of consumer-prefe... more The acceptance of new crop varieties by consumers is contingent on the presence of consumer-preferred traits, which include sensory attributes, nutritional value, industrial products and bioactive compounds production. Recent developments in genome editing technologies provide novel insight to identify gene functions and improve the various qualitative and quantitative traits of commercial importance in plants. Various conventional as well as advanced gene-mutagenesis techniques such as physical and chemical mutagenesis, CRISPR-Cas9, Cas12 and base editors are used for the trait improvement in crops. To meet consumer demand, breakthrough biotechnologies, especially CRISPR-Cas have received a fair share of scientific and industrial interest, particularly in plant genome editing. CRISPR-Cas is a versatile tool that can be used to knock out, replace and knock-in the desired gene fragments at targeted locations in the genome, resulting in heritable mutations of interest. This review highlights the existing literature and recent developments in CRISPR-Cas technologies (base editing, prime editing, multiplex gene editing, epigenome editing, gene delivery methods) for reliable and precise gene editing in plants. This review also discusses the potential of gene editing exhibited in crops for the improvement of consumer-demanded traits such as higher nutritional value, colour, texture, aroma/ flavour, and production of industrial products such as biofuel, fibre, rubber and pharmaceuticals. In addition, the bottlenecks and challenges associated with gene editing system, such as off targeting, ploidy level and the ability to edit organelle genome have also been discussed.
Scientific Reports
Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus Andrews) is a high-valued bulbous cut flower. However, the shor... more Gladiolus (Gladiolus grandiflorus Andrews) is a high-valued bulbous cut flower. However, the shorter postharvest life of the gladiolus, limits its marketing and commercial value. In the present investigation, the effect of lemon grass (LG) essential oil as an antimicrobial agent was studied towards increasing the vase life of gladiolus. The results revealed that as compared to control (distilled water), treatment with a lower concentration of 5 µL L−1 LG essential oil prolonged the vase life of gladiolus up to 11 days (d). Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) observation indicated that the sample treated with 5 µL L−1 LG essential oil showed intact vasculature, suggesting reduced microbial blockage at the stem end which was further corroborated by microbial count. Biochemical analysis suggested an increased level of total soluble sugars, carotenoid content, lower MDA accumulation, and higher activity of antioxidant enzymes in LG treated flowers. Moreover, transcripts levels of genes a...
The Indian Journal of Agricultural Sciences
The effect of climatic conditions and planting dates on growth, flowering and seed production of ... more The effect of climatic conditions and planting dates on growth, flowering and seed production of candytuft (Iberis amara L.) under mid hill conditions of Himachal Pradesh during 2010-11 and 2011-12 were investigated. Six plantings were done at an interval of 15 days starting from September 17 in both the years with planting dates as; September 17, October 2, October 17, November 1, November 16 and December 1. The maximum plant height (34.81 cm), plant spread (33.23 cm), number of side stems/plant (6.25), earliest visible flower bud formation (55.43 days), flowering (77.80 days), duration of flowering (41.80 days), number of flower clusters/stem (15.46), number of siliquae/plant (3467.72), seed yield/plant (10.25 g) and 1 000 seed weight (2.18 g) were recorded with September 17 planting. However, earliest siliqua formation (157.58 days) was observed in December 1 planted crop.
Journal of Evolutionary Biology
Agronomy
Litchi chinensis is the “queen of fruits”, and pollination is an essential requirement for fruit ... more Litchi chinensis is the “queen of fruits”, and pollination is an essential requirement for fruit set and production. The present study was conducted in litchi orchards to study the diversity/abundance of insect visitors, the impact of pollination on quantitative parameters, and different modes of pollination. The results showed that 75 insect species during flowering were reported including Hymenoptera, Lepidoptera, Diptera, and Coleoptera. In natural pollination, the abundance of insect visitors of Hymenoptera was more during morning and evening (50.25% and 44.89%, respectively) compared to Lepidoptera (21.83 and 26.67%) and Diptera (24.37 and 23.33%). Similarly, natural pollination with one Apis mellifera colony also showed higher abundance of insect visitors of Hymenoptera during morning and evening (50.15 and 57.31%, respectively) as compared to Lepidoptera and Diptera. The Dipteran insect visitors under natural pollination showed significant positive correlation with temperatur...
Frontiers in Plant Science
The bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae L.) is one of the important tropical cut flowers. Genera... more The bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae L.) is one of the important tropical cut flowers. Generally, flowers like bird of paradise (BOP) grown for the commercial ornamental market must be of high pre and postharvest quality. Thus, to improve the postharvest longevity and increase marketability, the relative efficacy of two different biologically synthesized nanoparticles (NPs) was evaluated. The novel proprietary stimulants were graphene oxide (GO) and silver nanoparticles (SNPs). The NP treatments were applied as a vase (lower concentrations) solutions. Among all the applied treatments, the synergistic effect of GO + SNPs at 1 µL L−1 vase solution significantly (p =0.05) prolongs the post-harvest life of cut flowers of BOP. Increased vase life over the deionized water (DI) control was associated with better maintenance of relative water uptake, relative fresh weight, suppressed microbial density at stem-end and delay of stem blockage, reduced electrolyte leakage, malondialdehyde (...
Journal of Plant Growth Regulation
Flower and Ornamental Plants
Floriculture has become one of the vital profitable businesses in Indian agriculture. The importa... more Floriculture has become one of the vital profitable businesses in Indian agriculture. The important flowers which are internationally traded include lilium, tagetes, rose, tulip, chrysanthemum, carnation, tuberose, crossandra, etc. Estimation of yield at the time of harvesting of flowers is an important aspect in these floriculture businesses which help strategize their marketing. The present study thus focuses on Lilium and Tagetes (marigold), which are well-known cut and loose flowers, respectively. Cut flowers are harvested when buds start showing color while loose flowers are harvested depending upon the varieties when it attains full size. Conventionally, yield estimations are done manually by counting buds and flowers, which is often erroneous and time-consuming. This paper attempts to develop an automated system for counting Lilium buds and Tagetes flowers at the time of its harvesting using digital image processing techniques. The process implicates image acquisition, preprocessing, thresholding, watershed and finally buds/flower counting for yield estimation. The validation of the results has been done by comparing the results obtained through the manual method as well as by automated counting. The entire process was repeated four times with four different photos to judge the robustness of the techniques. The obtained result was 95.61% accurate for Lilium and 96.66% in the case of Tagetes, airing the possibilities of using the approach. The systematic workflow with pros and cons has been discussed in this paper.
Dutch Iris is a commercially important bulbous ornamental crop. Its high demand in global floricu... more Dutch Iris is a commercially important bulbous ornamental crop. Its high demand in global floriculture market necessitates the production of high-quality planting material. In the present investigation, the significance of meta-topolin (mT), a novel aromatic cytokinin, was studied on in vitro morphogenesis of Iris × hollandica Tub. cv. Professor Blaauw (Dutch Iris). Cytokinin mT (1.0 mg L− 1) as a better substitute to BAP (6-Benzylaminopurine) and Kn (Kinetin), has resulted in maximum shoot induction response (86.11 per cent) and increased emergence of micro shoots (4.95 shoots/explant with average shoot length of 5.65 cm) from twin scale explants. Photoperiod also affected the shoot induction, wherein initial 1-week (w) dark incubation significantly increased shoot induction response (94.44 per cent). Both meta-topolin and initial 1w dark incubation resulted in improved quality of regenerated shoots by reducing the incidence of necrosis and preventing vitrification. The collective ...
Plant Physiology and Biochemistry, 2022
As sessile species and without the possibility of escape, plants constantly face numerous environ... more As sessile species and without the possibility of escape, plants constantly face numerous environmental stresses. To adapt in the external environmental cues, plants adjust themselves against such stresses by regulating their physiological, metabolic and developmental responses to external environmental cues. Certain environmental stresses rarely occur during plant life, while others, such as heat, drought, salinity, and cold are repetitive. Abiotic stresses are among the foremost environmental variables that have hindered agricultural production globally. Through distinct mechanisms, these stresses induce various morphological, biochemical, physiological, and metabolic changes in plants, directly impacting their growth, development, and productivity. Subsequently, plant's physiological, metabolic, and genetic adjustments to the stress occurrence provide necessary competencies to adapt, survive and nurture a condition known as "memory." This review emphasizes the advancements in various epigenetic-related chromatin modifications, DNA methylation, histone modifications, chromatin remodeling, phytohormones, and microRNAs associated with abiotic stress memory. Plants have the ability to respond quickly to stressful situations and can also improve their defense systems by retaining and sustaining stressful memories, allowing for stronger or faster responses to repeated stressful situations. Although there are relatively few examples of such memories, and no clear understanding of their duration, taking into consideration plenty of stresses in nature. Understanding these mechanisms in depth could aid in the development of genetic tools to improve breeding techniques, resulting in higher agricultural yield and quality under changing environmental conditions.
Polish Journal of Environmental Studies, 2022
Ornamental potted indoor plants provide environment friendly, self-regulating and cost-effective ... more Ornamental potted indoor plants provide environment friendly, self-regulating and cost-effective solutions to ameliorating indoor air pollution. The present study aimed to measure Air Pollution Tolerance Index (APTI) of 15 commonly used indoor ornamental plant species. APTI was measured from the foliar portion of plants using their 04 biochemical parameters like chlorophyll (total), pH, relative water content, and ascorbic acid. It was found that among all plant species, Dracaena deremensis (APTI 13.03) and Ficus benjamina (APTI 12.19) appeared as tolerant; eight species (Spathiphyllum wallisii, Epipremnum aureum, Philodendron bipinnatifidum, Dieffenbachia seguine, Sansevieria trifasciata, Hedera helix, Chrysanthemum indicum, Ficus elastica) were moderately tolerant with APTI values ranging from 11.40 to 10.70. The Chlorophytum comosum (APTI 10.32) was intermediately tolerant and four were sensitive (Rhapis excels APTI 8.58, Chamadorea seifrizii APTI 8.47, Dypsis lutescens APTI 7.47, Gerbera jamesonii APTI 6.76) towards air pollution. A positive and high correlation was obtained between APTI and RWC (R 2 = 0.742), and APTI and Ascorbic acid (R 2 = 0.615). The present study thus helped in knowing the pollution tolerance abilities of widely used indoor potted ornamental plants. It was also revealed that the evaluation of the plant tolerance index could be useful for the screening of appropriate indoor plant species for pollution abatement.
Floriculture and Ornamental Plants, 2021
Agronomy, 2021
Jasminum parkeri Dunn is a narrowly endemic, critically endangered woody ornamental shrub confine... more Jasminum parkeri Dunn is a narrowly endemic, critically endangered woody ornamental shrub confined to sub-temperate zone of Western Himalayas, and rediscovered from its type locality after a lapse of about 100 years. In the present study, a propagation technique of J. parkeri, using stem cuttings, was established for the first time through application of auxins, namely, indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), and indole-3-butyric acid (IBA), at varying concentrations ranging from 1000 to 4000 ppm. The highest rooting percentage (98.33% (85.68% ± 4.32)), number of primary roots (36), root length (29.68 cm) and survival percentage (96.67% (83.85% ± 6.16)) were recorded for cuttings treated with 3000 ppm NAA. The phenological comparison between pot plants propagated through seeds and stem cuttings in a naturally ventilated polyhouse revealed a reduction in vegetative and flowering phases in cutting raised plants. Additionally, a noteworthy adaptive behavior of two w...